.375 Ruger Compared to .375 H&H Mag

[HAWKEYESATX]

Hello All!

I finally pulled the trigger on getting me a .375 Ruger. I did my homework before buying a Mossberg Patriot Stainless Synthetic with a 22 inch barrel. The majority of reading people’s actual reviews, and reading a few articles about the rifle have been quite positive.
I don’t have a scope for it yet, and would like suggestions as well.

What impresses, me is that the .375 Ruger outperforms the regular .375 H&H with 20 - 22 inch barrels, on a standard length action.

On average, the .375 Ruger can get 75 - 150 fps more in velocity, at the same pressures as the .375 H&H!

Does anyone have any experience with the .375 Ruger?

I plan on adding some weight to the rifle after I get it in, to help with recoil.


Hawk

 

[Guy Miner]

I may well give the 375 Ruger a try, in one of Ruger's rifles.

The 375 H&H is wonderful, but some of the rifles avail in 375 Ruger are terrific!

Regards, Guy

 

[JD338]

Congratulations on the 375 Ruger. It will be a power house in a quick handling rifle. A Leupold VX-3 HD 2.5-8x36mm would be a nice scope for your needs.
I've got a Nosler M21 375H&H on order and I'm going to top it off with the same glass.

JD338

 

[HAWKEYESATX]

I may well give the 375 Ruger a try, in one of Ruger's rifles.

The 375 H&H is wonderful, but some of the rifles avail in 375 Ruger are terrific!

Regards, Guy

I’ve got my eye on a Ruger Hawkeye African in the same caliber. That has a 23 inch barrel.
I’m trying to sell my Weatherby Mark V .300 Win Mag to pay for the Ruger.
Something about that cartridge and rifle combo just draws me to it.

Hawk

 

[HAWKEYESATX]

Congratulations on the 375 Ruger. It will be a power house in a quick handling rifle. A Leupold VX-3 HD 2.5-8x36mm would be a nice scope to cook needs.
I've got a Nosler M21 375H&H on order and I'm going to top it off with the same glass.

JD338

Thank you for the advice!!
That’s a really good suggestion! Thank you!!
Congratulations on the .375 H&H!!

Hawk

 

[DrMike]

Never owned one, but I have loaded for a few. Those I worked with always yielded an accuracy load quite quickly. I would have no problem owning a 375 Ruger. My observation is highly subjective, but the recoil on the H&H feels more like a push, whereas the Ruger was more of a punch. The recoil on either was manageable, and obviously would work very well for about any game you'd ever wish to hunt.

 

[HAWKEYESATX]

Never owned one, but I have loaded for a few. Those I worked with always yielded an accuracy load quite quickly. I would have no problem owning a 375 Ruger. My observation is highly subjective, but the recoil on the H&H feels more like a push, whereas the Ruger was more of a punch. The recoil on either was manageable, and obviously would work very well for about any game you'd ever wish to hunt.

Thank you DrMike.
I had a 375 H&H a few years ago, and that was a push, just like you mentioned.
I figure, if I load it like a 375 H&H, it should give around the same push, I would think.
The old Ruger M77 rifles had very thin butts, and with magnum rounds, it was almost intolerable.
Hopefully with the wider butts, and much better recoil pads, it should be about the same.

Hawk

 

[HAWKEYESATX]

Here are some loads I found for the 375 Ruger.
These are quite astonishing to me.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I've got a Ruger Guide Gun in 375 Ruger. The rifle is built like a tank, and it shoots well too. It would put 3 260gr Partition bullets in a 2" group at 300yds. I shot a buffalo with the Partitions, hit him broadside twice. After the first shot he just turned around 180 degrees and stood there so I hit him again. Both shots penetrated completely and were caught in the off-side hide. The expanded bullets were picture perfect and could have been used in their advertisements.

 

[JD338]

Nice buffalo Charlie, congratulations.
Post a picture of the recovered bullets if you don't mind.

JD338

 

[Europe]

.
I've got a Nosler M21 375H&H on order and I'm going to top it off with the same glass.

JD338

NICE ! You will love it

Hello All!

I finally pulled the trigger on getting me a .375 Ruger. I did my homework before buying a Mossberg Patriot Stainless Synthetic with a 22 inch barrel. The majority of reading people’s actual reviews, and reading a few articles about the rifle have been quite positive.
I don’t have a scope for it yet, and would like suggestions as well.

What impresses, me is that the .375 Ruger outperforms the regular .375 H&H with 20 - 22 inch barrels, on a standard length action.

On average, the .375 Ruger can get 75 - 150 fps more in velocity, at the same pressures as the .375 H&H!

Does anyone have any experience with the .375 Ruger?

I plan on adding some weight to the rifle after I get it in, to help with recoil.


Hawk

Congratulations.

The title of your thread is what caught my attention. This has been discussed and compared within my family and with friends who own both and again going back to the title of your thread the old saying "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" comes to mind. There is nothing the new Ruger can do the H & H can not do, at least in the field. But, that is not to say that it isn't a very god caliber, it is ! Since I am older than dirt, I prefer the H & H and Swede, instead of the Ruger and Creed.
But I also prefer music from the 50's and 60's--so what do I know But I logged on to give Guy so more info, so I will jump over to his thread now

 

[HAWKEYESATX]

NICE ! You will love it



Congratulations.

The title of your thread is what caught my attention. This has been discussed and compared within my family and with friends who own both and again going back to the title of your thread the old saying "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" comes to mind. There is nothing the new Ruger can do the H & H can not do, at least in the field. But, that is not to say that it isn't a very god caliber, it is ! Since I am older than dirt, I prefer the H & H and Swede, instead of the Ruger and Creed.
But I also prefer music from the 50's and 60's--so what do I know But I logged on to give Guy so more info, so I will jump over to his thread now

Thank you for responding!
Yeah, I know it’s probably been gone over several hundreds of times already. I just didn’t find many old threads about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I know the .375 H&H is a classic, and it’s taken more African game than any other cartridge, rifle combo.
I am hoping the .375 Ruger is just as good. I know it has just a little more pizazz to it, but that never has killed any game animals, to my knowledge.
I always love to hear about your thoughts, and experiences.


Hawk

 

[DrMike]

I've got a Ruger Guide Gun in 375 Ruger. The rifle is built like a tank, and it shoots well too. It would put 3 260gr Partition bullets in a 2" group at 300yds. I shot a buffalo with the Partitions, hit him broadside twice. After the first shot he just turned around 180 degrees and stood there so I hit him again. Both shots penetrated completely and were caught in the off-side hide. The expanded bullets were picture perfect and could have been used in their advertisements.

View attachment 16796

Charlie, a good looking bison and a handsome rifle. The laminate is attractive. How far were you when you drifted him?

 

[KinleyWater]

Here are some loads I found for the 375 Ruger.
These are quite astonishing to me.View attachment 16790View attachment 16792

Yes, one of the things I've noticed is how much powder it likes to consume; you burn (no pun intended) though powder much faster than other things I load. Sure does move them out quick and in a hurry, that's for certain, though. As for recoil, mine is a Savage, and I do not find the recoil to be a punch, kick, chop, frolic, skip, or cavort. Really more of a firm shove, but as I have stated so many times as to bore: I think that has to do with stock design in that rifle.

 

[JD338]

Thank you for your comments April. I wanted the 375 H&H because of it's rich history. There is also a plethora of load data available.
Africa is on the horizon.

JD338

 

[salmonchaser]

I’m also a fan of both but have never owned the Ruger; My 375H&H goes to the range almost every time I go. Just love shooting it. Looking forward to your reviews, I have often thought I needed one for guiding in Alaska but never tapped the trigger.
scope, I wouldn’t go more than the 2.5x8’ I like the 1.5x5 out to 300.

 

[Europe]

Hawk, please accept my apologizes as this veers a bit off subject.

I was asked privately by a member to share this with you and others on this thread. My husband loved the 375 H & H and I also had one and used it quite a lot until we went on a ski trip to Austria one winter and visited ---Ludwig Borovnik ( In Austria ) he makes a rifle called the "Secret of Artemis". It is a double 9.3 x 74 R ( the engraving on it is different but fits the name of the rifle )

It works well for all plains game, as well as Hippo, Crocodile , and Cheetah, in Namibia, but since it does not reach the required 5400Joules for the Big 5, I was forced to use the 450/400 for those animals in Namibia. I like Namibia because, still today, you are allowed to hunt all of the Dangerous 7, as well as the cheetah.

Tanzania would allow the 9.3 x 74R to hunt all but the Elephant and Buffalo. You are not allowed to hunt Rhino in Tarzania, but you can hunt Elephants and Buffalo in Tanzania with the 375 H & H, however, again I preferred to move up to the 450/400 for those two.

My favorite horned animal to hunt is actually the Bongo. Tough hunt as they are hunted in the rain forest, but they are beautiful and large animals. And I always enjoyed the Pygmy people. Very good trackers

The 375 H & H is just slightly larger than the 9.3 x 74 R and the 375 Ruger is a bit more than the H & H. You will be able to hunt the big 5 in any country in Africa with the 375 Ruger

Hawk, Jim, congratulations on your new rifles, but Jim a Holland and Holland caliber rifle with no Walnut ? (-:

 

[JD338]

April,
Good catch! The reason for the composite stock is I'm looking for an Alaskan Grizzly bear in hunt. I wanted an all weather rifle.

Thank you for sharing your Secret of Artemis. Sounds like a beautiful rifle that has a few stories that maybe could be shared with us.

JD338

 

[clearwater]

I have been enjoying shooting my plastic Mossberg 375 with cast bullets. 285 grain with a gas check they are hitting the 100 yard target about the same place as my jacketed load and use half the powder and a $.22 cent bullet. And it doesn't kick much. Would be a good big game load for close ranges too. 1800 fps. Bullets from Western Bullet out of Missoula. 5744 powder.

Also experimenting with a grouse load using a .375 round ball and 5 grains of Red Dot. The challenge so far is keeping the ball seated until I shoot them. Works good at the range, but moves in or out of the brass carried in a pocket.

At the moment I have a 1.5 to 4.5 old weaver scope on it.

 

[Charlie-NY]

Nice buffalo Charlie, congratulations.
Post a picture of the recovered bullets if you don't mind.

I had a large collection of recovered bullets that adorned my desks at the office and at home. Unfortunately, when the novelty wore off and I needed to clean things up a bit, they all got tossed.

Charlie, a good looking bison and a handsome rifle. The laminate is attractive. How far were you when you drifted him?

The bull was taken at just over 100yds. He took both shots with little more than a twitch when the bullets impacted. He fell over when he was good and ready.